CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Anisha Durve works at a modern, major medical center, but when she thinks she's getting a cold, she follows the tenets of a 5,000-year-old healing tradition.

She gargles with warm saltwater mixed with turmeric to ease her sore throat, inhales steam from eucalyptus oil mixed with hot water, and sips ginger tea.

"It works," she says.

Durve was only 2 when her family moved to Cleveland from Pune, India. Her father is a doctor, and when she attendedHathaway Brown for high school, she and her family thought she might go into medicine herself.

"I realized that would be the path for me," says Durve, now in her 30s. "I was really interested in the wisdom of ancient medicine."

She went to the University of Rochester, where she earned a double major in religion and health. Upon reflection, she says, "that turned out to be a really good combination."

After graduating from college, Durve went directly to Albuquerque, N.M., for four years of training in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine with Dr. Vasant Lad, a renowned teacher, at the Ayurvedic Institute there. Then she spent three months in China and three months in India, getting intense clinical practice, seeing up to 50 patients a day.

"I wanted to see how the medicine is practiced in the native country," Durve says.

"I learned early on [in my life] about integrating healing practices. I saw the beauty of them all coming together."

Eventually, she and Lad together wrote a textbook on Ayurveda.

FYI

What

: 4-week Ayurveda class

Where:

University Hospitals' Connor Integrative Medicine Network

When:

6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays starting Feb. 6

Cost:

$200.

Details:

Classes are broken down by topics such as Ayurvedic lifestyle and nutrition, and determining which body type you are.

Sign up:

Call 216-767-8435. Space is limited.

More:

Durve also will be giving a free talk on spices and Ayurvedic nutrition at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Mustard Seed Market in Solon; call 440-519-3663 for details.

Durve worked in Florida for several years before moving back to Cleveland and establishing her own business as an Ayurvedic practitioner -- one of only two in Ohio.

That made Ahuja one of the first major medical centers in the country to offer classes and coaching in this Asian-Indian healing modality.

A scienceof balance

Ayurveda, which means "science of life," centers on the philosophy that there are three "constitutions," or doshas, that make up our being: vata (air), pitta (fire), and kapha (earth). Ayurvedic coaching evaluates imbalances and fluctuations in those three energies, which can manifest in physical and mental symptoms.

Balancing the mind, body and spirit is done primarily with the use of herbs, massage and nutrition.

Durve, who is trained in both Ayurveda and TCM,was the perfect fit for Ahuja, says Dr. Michael Nochomovitz, president of University Hospitals Physician Services.

While it's fairly easy to find an acupuncturist -- an often-employed practice of TCM -- not only at UH but at the Cleveland Clinic and through various wellness centers, Ayurveda is less known in Ohio, says Nochomovitz.

"But we have had significant interest in Ayurveda from Clevelanders, people out of town, even out of state. There is a demand for this from both people who are knowledgeable about Ayurveda and people who are looking for an entry point to this philosophy," says Nochomovitz.

Ayurvedic experts are not licensed as doctors in Ohio. What they offer are consultations and recommended adjustments to lifestyle through diet, sleep, or stress relief, which is what Durve does.

Durve says her life's path was partly inspired by her aunt, an Ayurvedic doctor in India.

"Ayurveda and TCM represent something our ancestors have known for generations about the depth of healing, which I found missing in [American] culture, especially when it comes to chronic conditions."

Try simplerremedies first

Growing up in an Indian household, Durve had Ayurvedic traditions infused into her daily life.

"You use home remedies, natural and simple remedies, and you don't really question it," she says, referring to such practices as drinking ginger tea to alleviate digestive distress.

"Pharmaceutical drugs were about suppressing symptoms, while I was interested in the depth of healing.

"It makes sense to me to use these remedies first before taking an antibiotic, or heavy-duty drugs," Durve says.

"Ayurveda is about simple remedies that are practical and easy."

And effective, at least according to some studies. Researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have found that spices such as turmeric, ginger, cayenne and cinnamon are antioxidants with potent anti-inflammatory benefits.

Curcumin, the main ingredient in turmeric, which is used to season Indian food, has been shown to reduce local tissue damage and the swelling and redness caused by inflammation. Clinical trials at MD Anderson are being done using curcumin to treat multiple myeloma, colon and pancreatic cancers, cystic fibrosis and psoriasis.

Other treatments or recommendations in Ayurveda might include: getting a four-handed massage, using an aluminum U-shaped tongue-scraper morning and evening to keep the tongue's coating clean and eliminate toxins from the body, massaging sesame oil into your skin in the morning and evening to nourish the skin and body and pacify the doshas, and practicing restorative yoga poses and meditation.

One of the more important principles of Ayurveda is the emphasis on routine, such as going to bed at the same time each night, before midnight, and rising with the sun.

Durve explains that yes, there are limitations to Ayurveda.

"It is not a quick fix -- it is not appropriate for physical trauma," Durve says.

"Western medicine does better with acute injuries, but Eastern does better with chronic conditions."

And that is what most American adults deal with: chronic illness, mostly caused by lifestyle choices.

Class teachesnutrition, rituals

At Ahuja, the journey into Ayurveda begins with a four-week, two-hour class that anyone can sign up for. This allows people to learn the overall philosophy and history of Ayurveda, including aspects such as nutrition and daily practices. After taking the class, students can sign up for individual coaching to deal with specific issues using Ayurvedic methods.

John Rampe, 67, took the December class, as did his wife, Elinore Evans. Rampe says, "I have a passionate relationship with heart disease, and I'm trying to find ways I can be on top of good health, without it being a pharmaceutical solution.

Rampe, who has had bypass surgery and follows a mostly vegetarian diet, bought a book on Ayurveda about a year ago, and after a friend told him that working with an Ayurvedic teacher was important, he foundthe UH class.

Rampe is creating Ayurvedic morning and evening rituals, such as the yoga to becomemore flexible.

"Instead of allowing my days to be helter-skelter, I'm working on the discipline of doing healthful things," including cooking with spices.

The result, he says, is "my energy levels are far better. I used to feel like I was wading through tapioca. Now I have the energy to get things done, the desire for accomplishment."

Durve takes care to explain the history of the practice in class.

In India, Durve says, Ayurveda is mainstream. "In this country, I have to build up people's trust first," she says.

"Our mission is optimal health, and much of medicine is really about lifestyle," she says. "Many of the Ayurvedic tools are about living the best way you can, with what is, and with common sense.

"What we do is more than just focusing on healing -- it's about prevention and well-being, optimizing what we have. And Ayurveda is about doing that in a customized way that is best for the individual."